Leigh Delamere
| Leigh Delamere | |
  Leigh Delamere Leigh Delamere shown within Wiltshire | |
| Population | 28 |
|---|---|
| Unitary authority | Wiltshire |
| Ceremonial county | Wiltshire |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Chippenham |
| Postcode district | SN14 |
| Dialling code | 01249 |
| Police | Wiltshire |
| Fire | Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | Great Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | North Wiltshire |
Leigh Delamere is a small village in the civil parish of Grittleton in the English county of Wiltshire, five miles from Chippenham. It is the location of Leigh Delamere services on the M4 motorway.
The village comprises a church, eight almshouses and eight houses, most of which have been renovated during a major modernization of the hamlet following the demise of Manor Farm. The almshouses have been sold and the new owners are going to split the building into two houses.
Leigh Delamere is in the constituency of North Wiltshire, and the MP is James Gray (Conservative).
Since 2007, a bund has been proposed to be built around the hamlet of Leigh Delamere to reduce the noise of motorway traffic. The residents of Leigh Delamere voted on whether to build the bund and the vote won with a landslide victory.
St Margaret's Church
St Margaret of Antioch Church was built, on the site of a previous 12th-century church, in 1846 and dedicated to Margaret the Virgin. It has been designated as a Grade II* listed building[1] and is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.[2]
The previous church had been built around 1190, in an Early English style with some Norman features. In 1301 the patron of the church was John De la Mare. By 1846 the church was in a dilapadated condition and it would have cost more to repair than rebuild.[3] The new church was commissioned by Joseph Neeld and designed by James Thomson who also designed the nearby Grittleton House which is now Grittleton House School. The Gothic chancel, includes a reredos which is carved and decorated in many colours. The west window includes stained glass by Wilmshurst.[2] There are many memorials including those to the Neeld Baronets.[1] A new organ was installed in 1896, and electricity supplied in 1949 although attendance by this time was very low. The church was closed as a regular place of worship in 1992.[3]
By-Brook Benefice
The union of benefices of Biddestone with Slaughterford, Castle Combe, Grittleton and Leigh Delamere, Nettleton and Burton with Littleton Drew, West Kington and Yatton Keynell to form a united benefice was formally established on 1 December 1999, although the parishes had been operating along these lines for the previous five years. The Benefice of Colerne and North Wraxall was from 1 January 2006, joined with the By Brook Benefice. Rev. Jonathan Philpott became the Priest in Charge in October 2010. The Benefice is part of the Chippenham Deanery in the Diocese of Bristol.
Leigh Delamere bridge
The motorway bridge in Leigh Delamere has concrete fatigue, and was to be demolished and rebuilt in 2009. This has not yet happened.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Church of St Margaret". Images of England. English Heritage. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "St Margaret of Antioch, Leigh Delamere". Churches Conservation Trust. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Church of St. Margaret, Leigh Delamere". Wiltshire County Council. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
External links
Media related to Leigh Delamere at Wikimedia Commons